


Wincrest Stream

by pixieferry



Series: Prince Hamid [1]
Category: Desire & Decorum (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 04:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18403322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixieferry/pseuds/pixieferry
Summary: What if Prince Hamid had been waiting for MC (Liana) and they went to Wincrest Stream together?





	Wincrest Stream

“Whatever are you doing here?” she gaped.

“I let the others return to Miss Daly’s house without me.” Prince Hamid crossed the fence and bounded towards Lady Liana. “I wanted to make sure you were alright, my lady. I can imagine all of this must be rather difficult…and I thought you should like some company on the walk back.”

“Thank you,” she said, taking a moment to compose herself. “This means more than you can imagine.”

Hamid stepped closer and offered his arm, which she took. They walked in a comfortable silence down the dirt road.

“This is the road I first met Mr Sinclaire. He almost ran me over too. But unlike a handsome prince,” Liana smiled at him, “he neither apologized nor offered his horse’s head.”

“I offered you my driver’s head, not my horse!” he said with a laugh.

The smile on her face remained, though strained, her voice soft and tremulous. “My life changed that day. That was the day mama told me about my father. And the day she left me.”

He stopped in his tracks and gazed into her eyes, noting they were red-rimmed. “Your heart is heavy, Lady Liana. If there is anyway I can ease it, or offer you some comfort, I am at your service.”

She gave a wan smile and whispered her thanks. They traveled a further distance down the road a distant sound piqued his ears. He stopped, craning his ear, listening carefully. 

“Do my ears betray me, or is that rushing water?” He asked.

“That must be the Wincrest Stream. I used to escape there practically every day with Briar growing up.It’s been years since I’ve given it a second thought. It’s one place where all my problems simply seem to vanish downstream…” she trailed off. “I wonder how much it’s changed since I was last there…”

“Only one way to find out. I would be heartsore if our time together was to end so soon. Besides, I came to Grovershire to see every part of you.”  He tucked an errant lock of hair behind her hair, powerless, as always, to resist grazing her cheek. “Who was Miss Liana Mills before she was Lady Liana of Edgewater?”

Liana broke away from him, tilting her head side to side to mull it over. “I shall not deny you the pleasure of my company.” She immediately began sprinting. “I’ll race you there!” she shouted, leaving him in the dust.

“Cheater!” Hamid shouted back, breaking into a run. The wind carried her laughter, and it seem to call him like a siren.

“I win!” she said triumphantly, when he caught up to her just half a second later.

“Only because you cheated!” He protested, although he joined her laughter. “It’s good to hear you laugh so freely.”

“It’s easy to laugh when I’m with you.” But it died as soon as those words left her mouth. Liana bit her lip, as though she had said too much. “We’re almost there,” she pointed a little ways across.

“Please tell me we have to hop across!” Hamid said excitedly, staring at the stepping stones, his feet itching to go.

“You don’t  _have_ to hop across, but it makes for a better experience,” she replied, jumping from rock to rock across the water, Hamid following closely behind.

“I’m quite impressed with your hopping skills, Your Highness,” Liana said, glancing over her shoulder. “I must admit I -  _ahhhh!_ ” 

Hamid was there in a flash, grabbing her by the waist to steady her. “It’s alright. I’ve got you.” It was then he realized that their bodies were pressed against each other. He could feel her breathing hard against him, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. 

“What would I do without you?” Liana murmured, looking through her lashes.

“I’ll always be there to catch you. I would be beside myself if I let something as precious as you drift away.”

The clouds shifted into her eyes. Liana pushed him away gently. “Please don’t make promises you can’t keep, Hamid.” Her words were like a cold splash to his face. Before he could respond, she cleared her throat and looked down. “I seem to have misplaced my shoe.”

“We can’t have that,” Hamid said cheerfully. He looked around and eagerly retrieved it, he got down on one knee and presented it with a flourish. “Your glass slipper! May I?”

“Are you trying to take advantage of me, Your Highness? Get a glimpse of my ankle or more?” she smirked.

He gasped and clutched his heart in mock pain. “I am wounded that you would think my act of chivalry has ulterior motives.”

She raised an eyebrow and unceremoniously took the shoe from his hand. He averted his gaze while she slipped it on. “It’s alright now. My ankle is covered, my modesty preserved, thank you.”

“Did I offend you?” Hamid asked hesitantly after they had crossed the stream. The silence vibrating between them was now of a different note, off-key, like someone had fiddled with the tension.

“Hmm? No,” she said, shaking her head, not looking at him. Liana continued to walk ahead, furthering the distance between them.

“What did you mean earlier?” Hamid pressed, doggedly pursuing her. “About promises.” 

Liana stopped, her brows knit. “I was thinking of my parents. I’m sure they made many promises, had many grand dreams. Broken in the end. They loved each other, so very much. But it wasn’t enough to keep them together.” 

She played with her hands absentmindedly, gathering her thoughts. “My mother, I can’t imagine how difficult it just have been for her. To raise a child all by herself, alone, her livelihood uncertain, that’s difficult enough. 

“But knowing that her lover, the father of her child, was out there but not  _with_ her…I don’t know if I could be that strong. 

“I wonder if it could have been prevented,” she continued. “Perhaps if mother and father had discussed things before, we’d have a home, as a family.”

Hamid placed a hand on her shoulder. “You shouldn’t dwell on ifs.”

“I should  _try_ to learn from their mistakes,” she refuted, her voice rising ever so slightly. “How could they think eloping as the best solution? Did they explore every possible angle, contingencies? I can’t help but feel they weren’t really prepared.” Liana sighed and rubbed her temples. “I wonder if they had any regrets.”

“I’m sure they don’t regret you,” he said gently.

She shrugged him off with a taut smile and pressed forward along the water’s edge, with Hamid trailing after her until they reached their destination. 

“Why are you smiling?” she asked.

“I was just thinking this place is brilliant.” Hamid said, breathing in the air that was crisper and sweeter than London. His eyes were shining, greedily drinking in the view, eager to explore this new world. “I could stay in a place like this.”

“You have seen so much of the world, surely there are places more interesting than this.”

“The world is less vivid if you aren’t by my side, Liana,” he said, reaching out for her.

She let out an unladylike snort, and crossed her arms. “You can’t possibly mean that. In all your years wandering, seeking new adventures, seeing many beautiful sights and faces… You’re saying this simple place is enough to quell you?”

“You doubt me?” Hamid asked, hurt by her words and surprised by the edge in her voice. He regarded her carefully, remembering Liana’s erratic behavior since exiting her childhood home.

“Yes!” She said bluntly. “Forgive me, I…” 

The strings snapped. 

Liana picked up a stone, trying to skip it. Instead she wildly hurled it into the water, breaking the calm. “Your words are always so  _sweet_ ,” she said, firing another stone. “You’re trained to tell people what they  _want_ to hear, isn’t that right?”

“I am.”

“You don’t deny it.”

“I don’t.” He picked up a stone and sent it skimming across the water. “I use it to my advantage. To serve my sultan, my Empire’s interest. Which may not be in the people’s best interest. For the so called greater good. My hands aren’t clean.”

Something in his words resonated for Liana stopped, her grip on the next stone loosened, falling with a clatter. 

“I have seen power, it rarely brings great happiness. It’s not worth fighting for.” Hamid took her hand and pressed a stone, cold and hard, into her soft palm firmly. He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. “But love, no matter the cost, is.”

“Surely you wouldn’t give up your life for love,” she said warily, her eyes shifting to the rock in her hand, the stream at their feet, anywhere but his.  “You’re a prince, anyone would be thrilled to live your life.”

“It’s not without its advantages,” Hamid admitted. “But it also has its trappings. A golden cage is still a cage.”

“And yet here you are, free to gallivant around the world.”

A light dawned on Hamid’s face. “I see.”

“Do you?” she said moodily. She let out an exasperated cry when her stone went splashing down again. 

“Did I mention, when the Parliament season ended, I was supposed to be redeployed?”

_Splash!_  “Yes.”

“Yet here I am.”

Liana sighed, her shoulders slumped as though the weight of a thousand river rocks were on her back. She sucked in a breath and Hamid felt a chill in the air when she spoke, her voice cool as the wind breathing on his cheek. “And tomorrow you could be gone.”

“Yes.” 

She threw another stone, and it felt like his heart sank with it, into a cold, suffocating shock. They stood there in stillness, watching the last of the ripples flow away.

Liana pinched the bridge of her nose. “We should go.”

“Wait.” Hamid took her hand, kissing her fingertips before pressing it to a vein on his neck.

“What are you doing?”

“Putting my heart in your hand. Can you feel it?” His judge, jury and executioner stared back mutely. Hamid took a deep breath, praying his words wouldn’t fall upon deaf ears, that she could feel his truth. “It is said the heart beats faster when one is lying. Do what you will with this.

“I know words aren’t enough, but we must talk. I was too blindsided by the Duke, I overlooked the other obstacles. I want to know your concerns, your hopes, I want us to work on this together. I will never stop fighting for you.

“Before you, I wouldn’t think twice about leaving, I  _never_ let myself become attached. You have completely captivated me, there’s no peace if I’m not by your side and I will always find a way back -”

Liana wrenched her hand away. Hamid winced as the invisible silk cord tied around his neck tightened and pulled. He staggered a half step back, clawing at the collar of his jacket.

He felt something circle around his waist - her arms. He sighed with relief as she came to him, resting her head against his chest. The cord vanished when Liana placed a kiss on the tender spot of his neck, the thrumming of his heart skipped a beat against her lips. 

“What shall we talk about?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I am in the very long process of writing a fic based in Constantinople.  This story is an unofficial prologue. 
> 
> Historical footnotes because subtlety is wasted if you don’t have context:
> 
> The Golden Cage - Heirs to the Ottoman throne were confined in the Golden Cage or the Kafes mainly so they couldn’t conspire to overthrow the Sultan.   
> The Silk Cord - Before the Kafes, the Ottomans practiced fratricide - survival of the fittest, not the eldest. Male heirs were strangled with a silk cord because royal blood cannot be spilled. Their executioners were deaf and mute so they could not hear their victims’ cries or speak of the evil.


End file.
